Senior Lead No. 17 Kentucky Past Princeton in NCAA Opener
Wildcats will play in the second round on Monday vs. NC State or Maine
RALEIGH, N.C. – Seniors Maci Morris and Taylor Murray each scored 19 points as sixth-seeded Kentucky held off 11th-seeded Princeton 82-77 on Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum.
Kentucky (25-7) got 15 points from freshman Rhyne Howard and 12 from sophomore Tatyana Wyatt as the Cats advanced to the round of 32, where they will meet either host N.C. State or Maine.
As it has all season, Kentucky’s pressure defense was an important part of the team’s victory. The Cats forced the Tigers into 16 turnovers, and UK was able to score 22 points off those miscues. Meanwhile, Kentucky turned the ball over just seven times, leading to just eight Princeton points.
Princeton, behind Ivy League Player of the Year Bella Alarie, outscored Kentucky 38-28 in the paint. The Tigers also won the battle of the boards, 38-26.
Kentucky shot 50 percent (27 of 54) from the field and from the three-point line (nine of 18). Princeton converted on 30 of its 64 field goal attempts (46.9 percent), including seven of 19 (36.8 percent) from behind the arc.
Princeton scored the game’s first basket, but Kentucky quickly answered with five straight points to grab an early 5-2 lead. The Cats led 9-6 before the Tigers scored four in row to lead 10-9. But the lead only lasted 16 seconds, as Jaida Roper nailed a three-pointer to give Kentucky a 12-10 advantage with 4:00 left in the first period.
Kentucky would take a 16-15 lead on a pair of Wyatt free throws with 1:00 to play in the quarter. But Princeton scored five straight to end the quarter, taking a 20-16 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Princeton got off to a quick start in the second quarter, using a 7-2 run to take a 27-18 lead. But Kentucky would begin chipping away at that lead. The Cats scored six in a row, including four by Howard, to cut the deficit to 27-24 with 6:39 left in the half. After a Princeton basket, Kentucky scored seven in a row, four by Morris and three by Howard, to take a 31-29 lead. Princeton would tie the game at 31-31 before Wyatt converted a layup to give the Cats a 33-31 lead with 3:00 to play in the half.
But the Cats would miss their final five shots of the half and Princeton would take advantage, scoring six in a row to take a 37-33 lead into the break. Princeton made 16 of their 31 shots from the field in the first half, while Kentucky made 12 of 28. Howard led the Cats with seven first-half points.
The third period was a back and forth affair that featured two ties and eight lead changes. Kentucky scored the first four points of the half, on baskets by Morris and Amanda Paschal, to lead 38-37. From there, the teams would begin sharing the lead until late in the period. With the game tied at 52 apiece, Kentucky took control, scoring nine in a row, capped by a Morris three at the buzzer, taking a 61-52 advantage after three periods. Morris scored 11 points in the third period, making all four of her field goals, including three from behind the arc.
Princeton scored first in the fourth period, cutting the lead to six. The Tigers would get within six on three occasions, including at 65-59. That’s when Kentucky assembled a 6-1 run to take its biggest lead, 71-60, with 5:30 to play. The Tigers fought back with an 8-2 run to cut the UK lead to 73-68 with 3:29 to play, but Princeton would get no closer.
Princeton (22-10) got 22 points from Gabrielle Rush, while Alarie had 20 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.
Kentucky will face the winner of the N.C. State-Maine game on Monday. The time and TV network will be determined later.
Kentucky Women’s Basketball Postgame Notes
No. 17/17 Kentucky (6 seed) vs. Princeton (11 seed)
NCAA Tournament First Round
Reynolds Coliseum – Raleigh, N.C.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
No. 17/17 Kentucky 82, Princeton 77 – FINAL
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky moves to 25-7 on the year while Princeton is now 22-10 overall.
- This was the first meeting between the two teams in program history.
- Kentucky is 2-0 all-time against teams from the Ivy League. UK’s other win against an Ivy League team came vs. Yale.
- UK is now 823-539 all-time in its 45 years as a program.
- Matthew Mitchell is in his 12th year with the Wildcats and holds a 281-123 record. Mitchell is 311-153 overall in 14 years as a head coach.
- Kentucky is ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 17 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25.
- This is Kentucky’s 15th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Wildcats are 21-14 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 17-8 under Matthew Mitchell.
- Kentucky is a six seed in the event for the second time in program history.
- The Wildcats are now 12-3 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, including 9-0 under Matthew Mitchell.
- The Wildcats will return to action in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday at 7 or 9 p.m. ET vs. either NC State or Maine. The game will be played inside Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C.
Team Notes
- Kentucky used the starting combination of senior guard Taylor Murray, senior guard Maci Morris, freshman guard Rhyne Howard, junior guard Amanda Paschal and sophomore forward Tatyana Wyatt.
- UK is 2-1 with that combination.
- Princeton led 20-16 after the first 10 minutes as the Tigers shot 9-of-17 from the floor and held a 11-6 advantage on the boards. The Wildcats went just 5-of-13 from the field in the first quarter and although UK had two fewer turnovers the Tigers had three more points off turnovers.
- The Tigers scored 14 of their 20 points in the first quarter in the paint against the Wildcats.
- After falling behind by nine early in the second quarter, Kentucky went on a 13-2 run over five minutes of play to retake the lead 31-29 before two free throws by Princeton tied it at 31-31 3:21 left in the half.
- During the run for Kentucky the Wildcats held Princeton without a field goal for 3:31.
- The Tigers ended the half on a 6-0 run to take a 37-33 lead into the locker room as Kentucky didn’t score the final three minutes of the half.
- The Wildcats grabbed their biggest lead of the game after Maci Morris sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter. UK outscored the Tigers 28-15 in the third quarter and end the period on a 9-0 run.
- UK shot 8-of-13 from the field in the third quarter while Princeton went 6-of-12.
- UK was 4-of-6 from long range in the third quarter.
- The Wildcats won the rebounding battle in the third quarter 7-5 after trailing in that category at halftime.
- After allowing Princeton 22 points in the paint in the first half the Wildcats limited Princeton to 16 in the second half.
- Kentucky won the turnover battle 16-7 with a +9 turnover margin. UK scored 22 points off turnovers while Princeton scored just eight points off UK miscues.
- UK won the bench point battle 11-2.
- Kentucky is 6-5 this year when it is trailing at the half.
- The Wildcats are 18-0 this season when shooting higher percentage than their opponents.
- UK had four players score in double figures and are now 8-0 this season when it has four or more players score in double figures.
Player Notes
- Senior guard Taylor Murray scored 19 points with five rebounds, four assist and three steals.
- Murray now has 1,355 career points and ranks 18th all-time in points scored. She needs 3 more points to tie Belitta Croley for 18th all-time.
- Murray has 446 career assists which ranks tied for fifth most in program history.
- Murray has 285 career steals which ranks fourth most in program history.
- Murray was the first UK player to score in the game for just the third time this season.
- Freshman guard Rhyne Howard scored 15 points with five rebounds and four assists. Howard hit three 3s in the game.
- Howard has scored 504 points this season and is only the second freshman in program history to score over 500 points their rookie season. She needs 137 more points to tie Valerie Still for the program record.
- Howard has hit 71 3-pointers this season, which is the most ever by a true freshman in a single season in program history.
- She has 65 steals, which ranks third most by a freshman in program history.
- Her 205 rebounds is third most all-time by a freshman in program history.
- Senior guard Maci Morris scored 19 points with four rebounds and three 3s.
- Morris now has 1,672 career points, which ranks sixth most in program history. She needs 116 more point to tie Makayla Epps for fifth all-time in school history in points scored.
- Morris has 248 career 3-pointers made which ranks second in program history. She needs 23 more 3s to tie Sara Potts for most all time.
- Morris has hit at least one 3-pointer in 106 of 128 career games played.
- Sophomore forward Tatyana Wyatt scored 12 points with five rebounds going 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
- Wyatt has scored in double figures in five straight games for the first time this season and first time in her career.
- Wyatt has four or more rebounds in six straight games for the first time in her career.